Massachusetts Information and Facts

Official Website: http://www.mass.gov/

Income

The population of Massachusetts in 2002 was 6,421,800. Its rank was 13th in the nation. (The District of Columbia is included for ranking purposes.)

Per Capita Personal Income

In 2002 Massachusetts had a per capita personal income of $39,085. This per capita personal income ranked 4th in the United States and was 126 percent of the national average, $30,906. The 2002 per capita personal income reflected an increase of 0.4 percent from 2001. The 2001-2002 national change was 1.2 percent. In 1992 the per capita personal income of Massachusetts was $24,538 and ranked 5th in the United States. The 1992-2002 average annual growth rate of per capita personal income was 4.8 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 4.0 percent.

Total Personal Income

In 2002 Massachusetts had a total personal income of $250,993,700. This total personal income ranked 10th in the United States. In 1992 the total personal income of Massachusetts was $147,930,356 and ranked 10th in the United States. The 2002 total personal income reflected an increase of 0.7 percent from 2001. The 2001-2002 national change was 2.3 percent. The 1992-2002 average annual growth rate of total personal income was 5.4 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.2 percent.

Components of Personal Income

Total personal income includes net earnings by place of residence; dividends, interest, and rent; and total personal current transfer receipts received by the residents of Massachusetts. In 2002 net earnings accounted for 69.1 percent of total personal income (compared with 68.0 in 1992); dividends, interest, and rent were 17.5 percent (compared with 18.0 in 1992); and personal current transfer receipts were 13.4 percent (compared with 13.9 in 1992). From 2001 to 2002 net earnings decreased 1.0 percent; dividends, interest, and rent increased 0.8 percent; and personal current transfer receipts increased 10.1 percent. From 1992 to 2002 net earnings increased on average 5.6 percent each year; dividends, interest, and rent increased on average 5.1 percent; and personal current transfer receipts increased on average 5.0 percent.

Employment Earnings

Earnings of persons employed in Massachusetts decreased from $201,269,161 in 2001 to $199,297,048 in 2002, a decrease of 1.0 percent. The 2001-2002 national change was 1.5 percent. The average annual growth rate from the 1992 estimate of $115,005,199 to the 2002 estimate was 5.7 percent. The average annual growth rate for the nation was 5.3 percent.

Area - Massachusetts, the sixth smallest state in the nation, covers 23,934 sq km (9241 sq mi), including 1098 sq km (424 sq mi) of inland water and 2536 sq km (979 sq mi) of coastal water over which it has jurisdiction. It is roughly rectangular in shape, except for the peninsula of Cape Cod, which extends from the southeast. The state has a maximum dimension east-to-west of 295 km (183 mi). Including the offshore island of Nantucket, the maximum distance north-to-south in the east is 182 km (113 mi), while at the western border the distance is only 77 km (48 mi). The approximate mean elevation is 150 m (500 ft).

Climate - Massachusetts has a humid continental climate, with long hot summers and cold winters. Cape Cod and the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, however, usually have cooler summer temperatures because of the moderating effects of the ocean, which also give the region somewhat warmer temperatures in winter. Most of Massachusetts has average summer temperatures from 20° to 22°C (68° to 72°F), although daytime temperatures may sometimes enter the lower 30°s C (lower 90°s F). Average January temperatures vary from about -6°C (about 22°F) in the Berkshires to about 0°C (about 32°F) along the southeastern coast. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year. Most parts of Massachusetts receive from 1020 to 1170 mm (40 to 46 in) a year, and severe droughts are uncommon. Heavy snowfalls are common throughout most of the state, especially in the western highlands. However, the snowfall is relatively light on Cape Cod and the offshore islands. The coastal areas are prone to severe storms. Hurricanes come from the south frequently between June and November."Northeasters," coming from the polar regions of the Atlantic Ocean, occur year round but are the most severe in the winter. Snowstorms, blizzards, and ice storms also cause major damage each winter. Every few years a strong tornado will touch down in Massachusetts.

State Flag

State Flower - Mayflower

State Capitol - Boston
Massachusetts still operates under its original constitution, although this document has frequently been amended. It was drawn up for the new state by John Adams and was ratified in 1780. The document bears many similarities to the federal Constitution, providing for individual liberties and a definite separation of powers among the different divisions of government.

Famous People

Albert Pike pioneer teacher, lawyer, Boston
Amy Lowell poet, Brookline
Ann Smith Franklin printer, almanac publisher, Boston
Benjamin Franklin statesman, scientist, Boston
Bette Davis actress, Lowell
Brian Evans singer, Haverhill
Buckminster Fuller architect, educator, Milton
Cecil B. DeMille film director, Ashfield
Clara Barton American Red Cross founder, Oxford
Cotton Mather clergyman, Boston
Dr. Seuss Theodore Geisel author, illustrator, Springfield
E. E. Cummings poet, Cambridge
Edgar Allan Poe writer, Boston
Eli Whitney inventor, Westborough
Elias Howe inventor, Spencer
Ella Raines actress, Snoquaimie
Emily Dickinson poet, Amherst
F. Lee Bailey defense attorney, Waltham
Forrest M. Bird inventor, Stoughton
George Bush 41st U.S. president, Milton
Harold Stephen Black inventor, Leominster
Helen Hunt Jackson writer, Amherst
Henry David Thoreau author, Concord
Horace Mann educator, Franklin
Horatio Alger author, Revere
Jack Albertson actor, Malden
James McNeill Whistler painter, Lowell
James Russell Lowell poet, Cambridge
Jo Dee Messina country singer, Holliston
John Adams 2nd U.S. president, Braintree
John Chapman / Johnny Appleseed nurseryman, Leominster
John F. Kennedy U.S. president, Brookline
John Greenleaf Whittier poet, Haverhill
John Hancock statesman, Braintree
John Quincy Adams 6th U.S. president, Braintree
John Singleton Copley painter, Boston
Leonard Bernstein conductor, Lawrence
Leonard Nemoy actor, Boston
Louis Henry Sullivan architect, Boston
Luther Burbank horticulturalist, Lancaster
Max Tishler inventor, Boston
Nathaniel Hawthorne author, Salem
Oliver Wendell Holmes poet, Cambridge
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. jurist, Boston
Paul Revere silversmith, Revolutionary War figure, Boston
Percival Lowell astronomer, Boston
Rachel Fuller Brown inventor, Springfield
Ralph Waldo Emerson philosopher, poet, Boston
Robert H. Rines inventor, Boston
Robert Hutchings Goddard rocketry, Worcester
Robert Lowell poet, Boston
Samuel Adams patriot, Boston
Samuel F. B. Morse painter, inventor, Charlestown
Sharon Christa McAuliffe teacher, astronaut, Framingham
Susan B. Anthony woman suffragist, Adams
William Cullen Bryant poet, editor, Cummington
William D. Coolidge inventor, Hudson
Winslow Homer painter, Boston